Papal Ticket Sales On PATCO Fall Far Below Expectations
By David Madden
CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) -- There's another sign that anticipation for the visit of Pope Francis may be somewhat overestimated. Sales of special passes for use on the PATCO high-speed line that weekend have been far lower than expected.
Online sales were scheduled to end at midnight Friday, September 11th. Hours before that deadline, about 12,000 passes were sold. 75,000 were made up.
"We didn't know what to expect in terms of sales," John Hanson, CEO of the Delaware River Port Authority, told KYW Newsradio. "So we've done everything we can to make tickets accessible to the public to let them know they're available for sale through the online process."
Riders can still get papal weekend passes at the Woodcrest station midday Tuesdays and afternoons on Thursday for the next two weeks and every weekday at the Broadway station.
Freedom cards can still be used and riders will be able to buy a ticket through vending machines at operating stations, which include Lindenwold and Ferry Avenue that weekend.
"Vending machines will be there," Hanson said. "The vending machines will be available and they would have the opportunity to do that. Now, there may be a line and at some point, those stocks become exhausted."
That's why Hanson still advises riders to make sure they get a ticket in advance.
There are no plans to alter previously announced changes in service during the papal weekend. All runs will be westbound into the 9th-10th and Locust stop in Philadelphia from early morning until about 4pm. About an hour or so later, all runs will be turned eastbound into South Jersey through the overnight hours.
